BIG CITY
BIG CONDOS . . . . .THE RITZ CARLTON LAUNCHES IN TORONTO -- by C. L. Hanes
Well, the long heralded appearance of a Ritz Carlton Hotel &
Residences climaxed yesterday evening on Wellington Street in the Entertainment
District at the Ritz Carlton's new presentation center.
I'm a difficult person to impress and quite frankly, I have got to admit that I was
extremely impressed with this introduction of stately private residences integrated into
the upscale standard of a Ritz Carlton Hotel. My initial conclusion was, "watch out
Donald Trump, you now have more very real and very legitimate competition in this
market".
Not that The Donald didn't already have his hands full with the very impressive and
already under construction Hazelton
Hotel and Residences in Yorkville. They have already done all the below ground work on
the Hazelton and all parking levels are completely poured. Last I was by they were just
hitting the ground level. It's an impressive undertaking to say the least. Many of you may
recall that The Hazelton was my Top Condo Award Winning in 2004 (this year it is The St. Clair On The Avenue).
I was originally written up in the Bay Street Bull in which my position on the Trump International Hotel and Residences
was represented as "one of the few optimistic about the project". I was
certainly enthusiastic about Toronto getting a Five Star Hotel and, initially Mr. Trump
was to work with The Ritz brand. You can understand my enthusiasm which, unfortunately
began to waiver when the project groaned to a halt only to be started up again later.
My issue has always been "Occupancy Rates" and "Room Rates", two
meaningful statistics that any of my thousands of readers (simplycondos.com receives
30,000+ "Hits" Per Day!) and specifically ALL of my investor clients and
end-user clients insisted on knowing before seriously evaluating the offering.
Unfortunately, these numbers were not made available to us and I watched a dozen deals
walk out the door after my having done my due diligence on their behalf.
I published an honest article expressing my frustration (and that of my many clients) and
wrote to The Donald on two specific occasions but never received the courtesy of a reply.
I then received an invitation to stop in and get updated but once again, the numbers were
not forthcoming.
Being told by the sales representative that they had reached almost 70% sold (I've heard
more inflated numbers recently) while being unable to get meaningful information that any
astute purchaser would surely demand (I know 100% of mine did) represented a dichotomy and
quite frankly a frustration to only my clients but to me personally.
When I returned to the sales site the gentleman with whom I had originally met immediately
started screaming obscenities at me for having published my earlier comments. He refused
to answer my questions regarding the full color invitation that I held in my had (they
even offered me my own web presence on their web site) preferring to use profanity and
attempt to |
|
|
abuse
me for having written honest and truthful meaningful comment on issues of significance to
the public. You can bet that if my published comments were in any way untruthful I would
have had litigators crawling all over me the way other discredible developers in the city
have done in the past (actually surprisingly frequently).
Not to get off topic, last nights experience was refreshing and motivational for me. What
a class act! Last evenings event was not a selling party as held by many developers. It
was a VIP Preview for Toronto's "Who's Who" and believe me they were all there.
Not much of a socialite, I won't bother to throw names around. The event was jammed and
from the moment I arrived until the moment I left the quality of workmanship and attention
to detail was obvious. There are no small players in this equation.
The Marriott is uniquely a full partner in this project and the track record and
reputation of the Developer "Graywood Developments Ltd." is renown. The project
is being marketed by Baker Real Estate, the pre-eminent Seller's Agency in the city and
the event was hosted by Pat Baker, the president and CEO of Baker Real Estate. Looks like
a formula for success with me.
 The building is futuristically designed as a slender glass structure. Page and
Steele, the top Architects in the world are logically behind this stately one-of-a-kind
project. The residences are spacious (not an ad rag use of the word but literally spacious
ranging up to almost 11,000 square feet) and offer the very best of appointments. They are
found on the top 30 floors of Canada's newest five star hotel.
The Ritz Carlton conjures
up images of unsurpassable luxury, comfort and Rolls Royce service and attention to
detail. In my professional opinion, the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton will not
disappoint. Owners of these prestigious residences will enjoy the opportunity to use an
array of the hotel's five-star amenities: butler service, gourmet dining, health spa, etc.
The Ritz Carlton tower will
rise fifty-three stories above a podium. The podium will house the hotel's public spaces
(lobby, bar, restaurant, ballroom) and The Residence's lobby. The residences range in size
from 1260+ square feet to 11,000 square feet starting at approximately $800,000. There are
two smaller units (1,255 sq.ft. and 1,390 sq.ft.) priced under $1,000,000 with the
majority of the very tastefully designed luxury suites running larger than 2,000 square
feet.
The ceilings are smooth (I've seen developers recently marketing "stippled"
ceiling while still charging luxury pricing) and 10 feet in the residences and 12 feet in
the Penthouse. Each unit comes complete with floor to ceiling windows and 9 feet high
door! You even get a Sub-Zero wine cooler.
Certainly, if I could adjust to downtown living, and my financing being in sync I would
have been a candidate however, my preference to Forest Hill living leaves me more than
contented with my purchase in The St. Clair On The Avenue.
Congratulations to all of the parties involved in this true "World Class"
Development. I'm thrilled to see that the city can absorb these mega suites in light of
the number of projects now offering them in Toronto. |
